In Sickness
by sassy lion
Summary: Kagome is sick, but will Inuyasha do about it. Oneshot. COMPLETE


In Sickness

sassylion

This was written a while ago, before I saw the third movie. I don't even remember where this idea came from-- if it was Jisoba, thats great, if it was from someone else, that's great too, but let me know if I am impeading on other works.

I don't own Inuyasha, that honor belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. If I did, Sesshy would be my love slave... evil grin

_In Sickness_

Inuyasha closed his eyes, taking in the fresh air. It had been over a week since he had last seen Kagome. It wasn't like her to stay away for so long, even if she was mad at him.

"Are you going to get Kagome?" A little voice asked quietly. Inuyasha sniffed lightly and realized it was Shippou sitting next to him. "She's been gone a long time, I miss her."

"I'm going soon," Inuyasha admitted, opening his eyes. Looking at Shippou, he noticed a sad but innocent look on the kitsune's face.

Sighing loudly, Inuyasha stood up and grabbed Shippou's arm. He turned his fist over and placed a jewel shard in the kit's hand. "You'll be able to come with this."

Shippou held onto the shard fiercely as he leaped on to Inuyasha's head. The two leaped in.

They appeared moments later on the other side. Immediately, they smelled sickness and wondered what had happened.

Racing forward, Inuyasha leaped onto the roof by Kagome's room. The lights were off and the curtains were drawn closed. The window was locked as Inuyasha tried to pull it open.

"Well, I guess we're not getting in this way," he grumbled letting Shippou try to pull on the window with no luck either.

The two leaped off the roof and stepped to the front door. Inuyasha knocked softly. The door was answered almost immediately by Kagome's mother.

"Hello, Inuyasha," she called softly, almost like she had been expecting him. "Kagome is sick."

"Is she okay?" Shippou called from his spot on top of Inuyasha's head.

Kagome's mother looked up at Shippou, for a moment it looked like she was tempted to grab the kitsune and play with his tail, like she had Inuyasha's ears the first time they met. She shook her head. "She's not doing very well at the moment. She has a very high fever..."

"Can we see her?" Inuyasha piped in quickly.

"You might get sick too..." she warned.

"Demons don't get sick." Shippou leaped down onto Inuyasha's shoulder and looked over at him questioningly. "I'm not so sure about hanyous though..."

"I'll take my chances," he scoffed lightly. "I came to see her, I'm gonna see her." He spoke indifferently, trying to hide the worried tone in his voice, but it didn't get past Shippou or Kagome's mother, though they said nothing about it.

Kagome's mother sighed. "Up the stairs, last door on the right."

Shippou looked over to Kagome's mother as they started across the room. "I'm sure Kagome will be fine soon." Smiling briefly, he waved back to her as they headed towards the stairs.

Inuyasha paused when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Kagome will be really happy you came, Inuyasha."

He nodded silently. "We are worried about her too."

As Inuyasha climbed the stairs to Kagome's room, he could already hear her cries. Every one of them came closer to breaking Inuyasha's heart a little more. He didn't know what he would do without Kagome around.

Turning the doorknob, he could barely hold his stomach. The air was stiff with disease, even the smell of death had begun to permeate the room.

Kagome cried again, this time quite loudly. Inuyasha stepped closer and closed the door behind him.

By this time, Shippou had already leaped off Inuyasha's shoulder and curled under Kagome's chin. his tail rubbing against her cheek. "Inuyasha," he squeaked, "she's so warm..."

Inuyasha coughed deeply. "Go ask for some more ice, this stuff is almost completely melted already." Shippou nodded and rushed to do as he was instructed. Inuyasha didn't need any witnesses to what he was about to do, it was already risky enough.

Curling up on the bed facing her, Inuyasha placed one hand on her cheek. _Shippou was right, she is really warm._

"Kagome," he whispered softly. "Kagome, please wake up." Inuyasha coaxed, trying to get her consent before the spell. "Kagome," he called, a little louder this time.

Startled, Kagome lifted her eyelids as much as she could. "Inu--yasha," she croaked. Her eyes fell shut again.

"Kagome, I want your permission before I attempt this..."

"Hmm?" Her head tilted slightly in question.

"Please look at me." There was a desperate tone in his voice that Kagome could not ignore. She opened her eyes again, as much as she could, and noticed Inuyasha's eyes were wet themselves. "I-I can make you b-better." He stumbled over the words, his voice catching twice.

"How?" It was tough for Kagome to keep her eyes open. She just wanted to go back to sleep.

"Open your eyes," he commanded again and waited until she did. "My blood can heal you."

Kagome looked at him incredulously. "It can?"

_Kami, she is so weak. It is hard to hear her voice._ "I know a spell that will help my blood heal you, but if I give it to you, you have a possibility of turning --" he voice caught again, "turning into a hanyou, like me." He looked down at Kagome on the bed. "It may be permanent."

"If... I get to stay... with you... I don't care." Her eyes fell closed again and this time Inuyasha could tell her breathing had started to slow.

"Kagome!"

Shippou entered at that moment, his arms filled with an ovesized ice pack. "Kagome?" he squeaked softly, rushing back to the bed as quick as he could.

Inuyasha quickly closed and lock Kagome's door. He rushed back to the bed. Kagome's breathing had steadied for the moment, but it wouldn't last long. Inuyasha then took one of his claws and split his palm, then Kagome's. He placed his hand in hers, the wounds matching up, as he squeezed her hand tightly in his.

"Kagome," he whispered, feeling her blood and his mix. It took all of his concentration to keep himself from doing something rash.

As he pulled Kagome into his lap, he whispered the words he had been given years ago by a priestess named Uehara, his wound never leaving hers. If the bond was broken before the ritual was completed, both of them could potentially die.

"Are you all right, Inuyasha?" he heard Shippou squeak. Though Shippou was right next to him, he sounded far away to Inuyasha's ears.

"Let me concentrate, Shippou," Inuyasha chided softly. He patted the space next to him on the ned. "Sit and be quiet."

Without hesitation, Shippou sat and stared quietly at the intense hanyou. He knew _what_ Inuyasha was attempting, and he sat quietly -- although, not _patiently_ -- for the ritual to be completed. If Inuyasha had the smallest bit of break in his concentration or doubt, the spell would fail and both he and Kagome would more than likely die.

For Kagome, it was a win-lose situation. She would either get better by Inuyasha's blood or she would die -- as she was already on the verge of death. For Inuyasha, it was more a lose-lose situation. If he broke concentration at all, he would die. There was also the possibility the disease could spread to Inuyasha and cause him suffering like Kagome was experiencing now. The only win that could be recieved from the situation was if Inuyasha could concentrate the full three hours it took for the spell to be cast.

"Ignore the door, Inuyasha." Shippou whispered softly. Inuyasha nodded and held his concentration as Shippou quietly unlocked the door, opened it, closed it and headed downstairs to circumvent and distractions that Inuyasha might have encountered.

Inuyasha nodded to himself slightly, not worrying about anything but Kagome's health. Inuyasha knew Shippou would keep the others away from him for as long as he needed. Inuyasha knew there could be no doubt in his mind and heart, but he wished -- somewhere in the back of his mind -- that he'd had time to take Kagome someplace where there would be absolutely no possibility of interruptions. It was already dangerous enough.

Inuyasha thought about all the time that he and Kagome had spent together in the last two years. The first memory of Kagome he had was her falling in front of him while being chased by Mistress Centipede, and how she had mentioned she was not Kikyo, but Ka-Go-Me.

One of his favorite memories was when Kagome had gone home because she had been angry at him, but she had not come back right away. Inuyasha had gone to her house on the other side of the well and had found her asleep on her bed. Kami, he loved that bed. He remembered sleeping in it once while waiting for Kagome to study for a test.

Inuyasha felt himself becoming drowsy, which Uehara had explained would start happening after the ritual was half completed. Though he fell into a state of semi-sleep, he continued to concentrate on his task at hand, his hand still firmly joined with Kagome's.

_Inuyasha, what are we doing?_ A voice he recognized as Kagome's filtered into his head, he could feel confusion and pain from her, but he could also feel something else he couldn't really recognize in his state of concentration. He opened his eyes to find her still unconscious in his arms. When he closed his eyes again, he could see her in his mind, standing in front of him.

_I'm trying to save you. Don't you remember?_ he asked quietly._ You are really sick, Kagome. How did you let yourself get this bad?_

_It's not like I had much choice!_ she argued back. _I had to study for a test and..._

_You and your tests. Don't you realize you have to sleep sometime, Kagome?_ He shot back angrily. _So you are in this mess because you were already sick and you decided to study for some test instead of sleep?_

He felt shame from Kagome, so much that it overwhelmed him and he nearly lost his concentration. He gained control again quickly._ Don't get so upset, Kagome. It's important NOT to get upset. Stay calm._

_I'm sorry, Inuyasha._ He felt shame again, but not so overwhelming this time. _So where is this place?_

_How should I know? I closed my eyes and you were standing in front of me._ Inuyasha yawned deeply. _I'm getting really tired, Kagome. It would probably be better not to talk. If I had lose concentration on this spell, we could both die, and if I didn't do it, you'd probably already be dead._

Kagome looked at him with alarm, but stayed quiet.

The time passed slowly, and soon the spell would be finished. He quickly pulled the imaged Kagome into his arms and whispered a few words into her ear, thankful that the spell was almost over. He wasn't sure if Kagome realized how taxing this was on his body, let alone hers -- though she would hardly notice it if it had been.

"Time to say the words, Kagome," he whispered outloud.

Kagome slowly opened her eyes and repeated the words she had heard Inuyasha say earlier. A bright flashing light appeared around the two of them, intertwining between them. It dimmed what seemed to be hours later, but was in fact only seconds later.

Inuyasha fell onto the bed, exhausted. Kagome fell on top of him, exhausted as well. Both moved to be comfortable and they fell asleep in each others arms.

"Inuyasha."

Inuyasha moaned slightly, his name very loud in his ears. "Shut up, you stupid kitsune."

"You've been sleeping for nearly 16 hours. Kagome didn't even sleep that long. She only slept 7 hours."

"So what," he grumbled. "I did all the work. Of course I'm gonna sleep longer." Inuyasha sat up, still feeling slightly tired. "Where is Kagome?"

"Downstairs. Apparently, she knew you were going to wake up, so she went to get food." Shippou pointed to the door as it opened and Kagome stepped through, her hands full of food.

"It's good to see you awake, Inuyasha." Kagome held out the plate. "Do you want some food? I'm pretty sure you're really hungry."

Inuyasha looked Kagome over as she handed him the plate of food. She was wearing a pair of jeans, a green t-shirt and a green baseball cap. _What's with the hat?_ Inuyasha wondered.

"It was to keep the sun out of my eyes." Kagome responded right away. When Inuyasha looked up at her quizzically, she blushed slightly and responded. "You looked at the hat funny. I've been outside most of the morning. I just haven't taken the hat off." Kagome put her hand on the brim of the hat and tugged.

Her hair came tumbling down her back, but thats not really what Inuyasha noticed. Inuyasha noticed the pair of black dog ears sitting on top of her head. "You know you were right, Inuyasha. They did appear. The question is, will they ever go away?"

Inuyasha stood up quickly and grabbed Kagome's hand. "Do you want them to go away?"

Kagome paused and looked down at the floor momentarily. She looked back up a moment later, her eyes shining and proud. "No, Inuyasha, I don't."

Inuyasha smiled and pulled the cap back down on Kagome's ears. _What would I do without you, Kagome?_

She laughed brightly and whispered in his ear. "You don't want to know the answer to that question, do you?" She kissed him on the cheek and picked the bowl back up, shoving it in his hands. "Eat, and maybe you can explain some things afterwards." She winked playfully, smiled brightly and kissed Inuyasha deeply.

END


End file.
